Method of ornamentation



Dec. 28 926.

R. 5. TOMPKINS METHOD OF ORNAMENTATION Original Filed June 6. 1923 v wl Elmer the;

Ralph s. Fmyokins,

Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

lTED STAES TENT RALPH S. TOMPKINS, OF NEWBURGH, NEV YORK.

METHOD OF OBNAMIENTATION;

Original application filed June 6, 1923, Serial No. 643,675. Divided and this application filed February'25,

1925. ,Serial No. 11,584.

This is a division of my application Serial No. 64:3,675 filed June 6th, 1923, patented May 19, 1925 #1,538,072, for hat structure.

The invention has for its object to efiect improvements in methods of forming ornamental edgings, particularly applicable to the ornamentation of hats, to the end that a soft felt hat body may be produced in an ornamental form by utilization of the material therein. It is an especial aim to enable the ornamentation of manufactured articles of felt and othermaterialsadapted to similar formation-ashereafter described, to the ends that articles which have heretofore, when manufactured, been of a severely plain character, may, without the addition of attached trimmings, be provided with raised ornamentations of a novel and desirable character.

Examples of the' manner in which my method has been applied are given in the accompanying drawingsfln which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a hat upon which my method has been employed.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross section of the brim centrally of one of the ornamental elements thereon. V

Figure 3 is a'similar View intermediately of such elements.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a fragment of the brim, in its initial form.

Figure 5 is an'edge view of a portion of a finished brim.

Figure 6 is a similar viewof a different form of the brim produced by similar methods.

Figure 7 is an elev-ational view of a crown portion of a hat constructed in accordance with'my invention.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of a machine which may be used to carry out my invention.

Figure 9 is a front view thereof with goods-in place, the hemmer being omitted.

There is illustrated inFigurel an ordinary felt hat such as is much worn by women,-intended to retain its shape with a moderate degree of consistency, though adapted to modification of form after the-methods familiar in the art. customarily, a felt of moderate thickness is employed in such hats, and my invention hasbeen successfully embodied in hats of this character havinga thickness of about one-eighth of'an inch, al-

though it may also be applied to hats of greater or lesser thickness as well. lVhile my invention maybe applied to the ornamentation of felt and other bodies at intermediate parts, in Figures 1 to 6 it is represented as used for the ornamentation of the edge portions of a hat brim, where it has had its greatest value thus far. In the hat of Figure 1 the method has been employed to give the hat the appearance of having a series of regularly spaced balls on the edge of the brim. This is attainedby forming in the hat blank two series of semi-circular slits 11, each slit in one series being alined with an opposed similarslit in the otherseries. The slits are formed with the ends of the slits of one series presented toward and alined with corresponding ends of the slits in the opposite series, the extremities ofthese slits being equally spaced from aline parallel to the edge of the blank of the brim. The-outer series'h-ave their arcuate portions spaced sufficiently "from theedge of the blank'to leave adequate material for the formation of a line of stitching in the edge portion of the blank, whereby it is attached to an inner part of the brim, as willbe-described.

The slits being formed as described, the out-- or edge portion of the brim is bent inwardly on a-line centrally between theopposed ends of the slits, andlaid against theinner part of the brim, to which it is secured by a line of stitching 13. The distance between the two series of slits, andth'e line on'which the bend 14: ismade, as shown in Figure 3, is such that a tangent from the curve of the bent portion at the ends of the slits will have a substantial angle to the mean symmetrical projection or continuationof the brim from its inner portion past the bend. In other words, the slits terminate in the outer part of the curved edge formed by bending in and stitching the edge of the blank as described. By means of this, the'body'o'f the feltbeing resilient, and tending to'resist the bending imparted as described, the lobes. 15 within the slits 11 do not bend withthe outer edge portion and the inner rim portion beyond the ends of the slits as at 20, but retain a set, and spring from within the slits and assume a position extending nearly if not quite vertically to the body'of thebrim thereadjacent. By having the lobes inopposed pairs as shown, they simulate balls different ornamental shapes in the lobe ele-' ments. It is'also unnecessary to have the lobe elements in the two series registered with each other, as they may be staggered or otherwise formed, Figure 6 representing a brim in which two difierent shapes of lobes are formed in respective series arranged in staggered relation on opposite sides of the line of bend of the brim portion, and the elfect obtainable by omitting one of these series may be appreciated by covering the projections of the upper or lower part of F 1gure 6.

Various effects other than those illustrated may be obtained by varying the position of the spacing of the slits 11 with respect to the line of bend, by which the angle of the projecting lobe after bending of the material with respect to the mean body of the adjacent portion of material may be determined. Thus, in Figure 7, there is illustrated a further method of forming ornamentation, U-shaped slits 1'7 greatly elongated are formed at the junction of the crown and band of the'hat body, which may be curved more or less than shown in the illustration, the ends of the slits being preferably located in such manner that there will be a curved part in the body between the slits. This will result in the lobes formed within the slits projecting outwardly beyond the adjacent surface and body of the hat, forming an ornamental fringe without destroying the continuity of the hat body. The lobe elements within'the slits 17 will thus be caused'to project outwardly from the hat slightly, in case the'curve is gradual, or may project more saliently, in case an abrupt curve is formed, and they will lie without the bodyvportion of the hat and form a salient fringe at all times. The tendency of the felt tov extend in line with the material at the base of the lobe will guard against the lobe .01 fringe element being thrust inwardly through the spaces within the slits and thus not showing and possibly causing an undesirable appearance in the article. 7

The slits 17 and corresponding parts in various articles may be formed before operations corresponding to the blocking of the hat but after that corresponding to the fulling of the hat body when it has substantially a conical shape, and the slits may be readily cut therein by suitable machinery. If desired, in the formation of the slits, an interruption may be formed in the bight, whereby the lobe part remains attached to the body ofthe hat sutiiciently to retain these within the slits during blocking and other operations, but permitting them to be easily punched out when required.

For forming the slits it is possible to use machines of the general character illustrated in Patents Nos. 139,350 to Allen-1873; 1,256,731 to Rogers; 1,264,886; 1,489,891 and 1,195,490. In these a punch cutter of proper form to cut the slits 15 is mounted on the needle bar, and a corresponding slot is formed in a plate beneath the punch. The machine is adjusted for a long stitch, such as necessary to secure the proper spacing between the slits and a hemming attachment may be used to turn the brim edge inward so that two thicknesses of the felt will. be cut simultaneously, forming the opposed slits 11 on opposite sides of the line of fold 'at each reciprocation of the cutter. The edge of the brim is fed to the machine in the same manner that the edge portion of goods would be fed to a sewing machine ordinarily, and the slits produced rapidly and in regular se quence, requiring 'only ordinary unskilled labor to perform the operation. Unless a machine with double cam drive and two needle bars is employed, one of which carrying a needle operates much more frequently than the one with the cutter, it is necessary after cutting the slits as described, to again run the brim through a machine of the ordinary kind to form the line of stitching 13.

In producing the slits 17 the hat is preferably inverted and fed beneath the same general style of cutting device as before mentioned.

In cutting the slits, it is desirable that the last slit shall be properly spaced from the first one formed, and to insure this without fail, I customarily have preliminary marks made on the brim at a distance apart equal to some multiple of the space between centers of the slits (usually a distance to include about ten slits) The machine is started so as to cut the first slit on one mark, the second mark being advanced beyond the cutter, and when the second mark is crossed by the cutting mechanism, if the nearest slit is in advance of the mark, the goods are slightly crowded to the presser foot; while if the nearest slit falls behind the second mark, the goods are slightly dragged or retarded by the operator. By this means, if irregularities of the individual hats tend to cause the terminal punching action to occur at an irregular interval in relation to the first slit formed, the tendency may be corrected.

I claim:

1. The method of forming an ornamental trimming for apparel consisting in forming numerous slits within a body of goods in a grouping to produce a unitary ornamental eifectand to produce individually lobular elements therewithin, then bending the goods acutely on a line transversely to and close to the bases of the lobular elements sufficiently to cause said elements to be sprung saliently from the body of the material and fixing the material in the form to which it is bent.

2. The method of forming an ornamental edging consisting in folding a piece of goods on a line centrally of the proposed ornamentat-ion, punching slits through the two thicknesses of goods adjacent the line of fold to form lobular parts having their bases at-' tached next to the line of fold, and securing the body of the goods in folded'relation.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature" RALPH S, TOMPKINS. 

